As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on October 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. directed all flags to be lowered to half-staff immediately. Pursuant to this direction, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the State of Florida immediately until sunset on Monday, October 30, 2023.  

Please see the Proclamation by President Biden here

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be heading the parade and welcoming everyone back to FMB from the lead Chamber boat!  The two lead Chamber boats will be carrying the Chamber’s Board of Directors, Chamber Ambassadors and VIPs. Music and MC services on the lead boat will be provided by local beach musician and resident, Barry Lawrence.  A big thank you to Adventures in Paradise for generously providing the lead boats.

Parade participant vessels will assemble in front of the docks at Salty Sam’s Marina at 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., the boats will begin to leave Salty Sam’s Marina going past Parrot Key Caribbean Grill heading northwest passing by Erickson & Jensen seafood, the shrimp fleet, Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, Dixie Fish, Bonita Bill’s Waterfront Café, then heading under the Matanzas Pass Bridge. They will travel past the Coast Guard station and the homes along the back bay through Estero Pass, Hurricane Pass and into Pelican Pass behind San Carlos Island.   

After traveling through Pelican Pass and circling Pelican Island, they will turn back through Estero Pass and into San Carlos Bay heading toward the Pink Shell Beach Resort and Marina. The parade will turn south in front of the Pink Shell and head back toward the Matanzas Pass bridge. The boats will travel past Moss Marina, Snug Harbor and Nervous Nellies going back under the Matanzas Pass Bridge.  After passing Matanzas on the Bay and Petey’s Upper Deck, boats will continue south along the Fort Myers Beach (Estero Island) shoreline and then cross the Matanzas Harbor mooring field toward Salty Sam’s. Depending on time, the parade may make another short loop around the Back Bay area.

Do not forget to vote for the People’s Choice Award the night of the parade. Visit www.fmbboatparade.com.   

Please come early and support the recovering businesses on FMB by enjoying a late lunch or early dinner. For information on restaurants that are open, visit www.fortmyersbeach.org/whos-open-for-business.   

Best options for parade viewing are along the pedestrian walkway atop Matanzas Pass Bridge, at the shoreline by Bayside Park at the base of Old San Carlos, at all bars and restaurants along the back bay areas, aboard private vessels in the bay area and from numerous homes along the waterway. Please be respectful and kind to other parade viewers, take a moment to support our area businesses, and enjoy the holiday season!

For more information, please contact the Fort Myers Beach Chamber at 239.454.7500 or visit www.fortmyersbeach.com.

This week, Town Manager Andy Hyatt and Director of Operations and Compliance Frankie Kropacek hosted a class of second year master’s level students.

The students are in a post conflict/disaster recovery and reconstruction class at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Their degree program is International Affairs.  

Instructor C. Sylvia Hamie said that the Town of Fort Myers Beach was chosen as the Bush School’s annual high impact travel experience to a post disaster setting. Other post disaster settings visited over the years have included wildfires in California and New Mexico and hurricanes in Panama City Beach and Jacksonville.  

“All of these high impact experiences add to the lessons learned and key takeaways in disaster management studies,” Sylvia said. “Thank you for having received us and the valuable information that you shared. We definitely learned a lot!” 

The Memorial Bench Program that the Town had in place before Hurricane Ian is available again. This program provides a unique and visible way to honor loved ones.

A bench can be purchased from the Town and inscribed with a memorial tribute of the customer’s choice. The cost of the bench is $565 plus $4 per letter. Three lines are available for inscription. The application is on the Town’s website and it can be accessed directly here.

Because many of the previous benches were destroyed or displaced due to Ian, this program provides the opportunity for the public to help restore seating throughout the Town and beach accesses.

Locations where benches will be placed are listed on the application for customers to choose their preferred spot. Every effort will be made to accommodate this choice though Town staff do have discretion on where to place benches if the desired location is unavailable.

PLEASE NOTE: Purchasing a bench is considered a donation to the Town. The Town does not have a responsibility to replace a newly-purchased bench, but will restore benches at no cost that were placed before Hurricane Ian. Installation times vary depending on demand and material delivery times.

Questions can be addressed to the Public Works Department at 239-765-0202, ext. 1701, or by emailing publicworks@fmbgov.com.

Have you seen the construction equipment and activity happening on the large parcel of empty land beside the new ball field at Bay Oaks? 

It’s all preparation for restoration of the softball field as well as the grounds for longer term trailers that will house Town Hall for a couple years. We are expecting to be in the new Town Hall trailers by the end of this year. These new trailers will eventually be replaced with a rebuilt combination Town Hall and Bay Oaks Recreation Center.